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Pediatric Acupuncture
Critical eye on pediatric acupuncture - TCS - Dec 31, 2002 - Howard Fienberg
A new study in the December issue of Contemporary Pediatrics
recommends the use of acupuncture to treat children with chronic pain or nausea, claiming to have evaluated the effectiveness of acupuncture for children by examining its use in adults. However, the flaws in the research reflect ongoing problems in other acupuncture studies.
Doctors using acupuncture on children - Health on the Net report says that Kathi Kemper is actually at Harvard University.
Press release about Kathi Kemper's study at the Brenner Children's Hospital in Winston-Salem.
Another press release from the Wake Forest Medical School - What is really unbelievable is that this medical school provides links to information for parents so they can find an acupuncturist. Doesn't the medical school realize that most of adult acupuncture is not regulated, that there are no standards for children, and that there is the potential for harm? What legal responsibility does this place on the medical school, or the pediatricians involved in the study?
Well, I guess Wake Forest really doesn't care about stuff like this. The school used to be called the Bowman Gray School of Medicine. It was named after a tobacco executive who donated millions to the school. "Gray died of a heart attack on a cruise ship off the coast of Norway and was buried at sea off North Cape above the Arctic Circle."
This neat arrangement between tobacco and Wake Forest still thrives. For over a hundred years, this medical school and its affiliated university was funded by tobacco companies. In fact major tobacco companies still fund business schools at Wake Forest. In addition, Wake Forest actually owns buildings that they rent to tobacco company spinoffs.
Head of General Pediatrics - (Kathi Kemper doesn't have a link on their web site. I wonder why?) Perhaps Kemper could go to China and see if her needling of the pediatric aged smokers earlobes could put a damper on the rate of smoking in that country. There are probably over 350 smokers in China who could use some help. While she's at it, maybe she could spend some time boning up on all those open heart surgery cases that good old Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld missed out on over the last 25 years.
Tell Tale Hearts and other Acu-Fables
Isadore Rosenfeld, MD, and Fox News Medical contributor
 I was watching Fox news channel on satellite on December 29, 2002 and could
not believed my ears when I heard Isadore Rosenfeld again tell his tall
tale about his trip to China 25 years ago. This well publicized event was chronicled in Parade Magazine years later. My guess it was timed to coincide with yet another book by Rosenfeld about alternative medicine.
Rosenfeld described what he "actually witnessed". Yes, it must be true, a cardiologist saw it with his own eyes folks. A young woman was having the left side of her chest sliced open with only ear acupunture and without intubation.
There are a number of sites below that seriously question the entire event. From my perspective, it looks to me like Rosenfeld either didn't have his glasses on, or he was fooled by mirrors. Any idiot could see that the chest wound was not on the patient, but it was made below the patient and to her left.
Sites that debunk THE PICTURE
How the hell could a cardiologist be taken in by these folks, and how
can Fox TV allow him to tell the story over and over again? It is a
physical impossibility for this to have taken place.
This is preposterous, but then again, this is Fox TV.
You can go to the Fox web site and watch Rosenfeld's comments - it may not be
work with Real Player, so use Windows MediaPlayer.
He says he has THE PICTURE.
Rosenfeld said on Fox last Sunday that if the audience sends him lots of e-mails, he will bring THE PICTURE in next week to again mesmerize the world. I just can't wait, and neither can Gary Posner and the rest of the gang on the HealthFraud list.
But just in case you want to see the original article here. With THE PICTURE
Maybe over the last 25 years, the woman, or man, who is underneath the alleged patient could be contacted to confirm the story. P
So folks, why not e-mail Izzy at:housecall@foxnews.com to remind him to bring the picture.
I wonder if someone in NYC area would ask to appear on the show next
week and analyze the picture. Maybe one of their real news reporters, or perhaps one of Senator Clinton's friends could come on as an expert. No, she's too busy in Washington. Perhaps Oprah or Dr Phil could break ranks and move over to Fox. In case the Shanghai woman has crossed over to the other side, we could always tune our TVs to the Science Fiction channel and ask John Edwards if he can reach her for comments.
Yes folks, Dr. Rosenfeld is also a fan of magnetotherapy and his book is
endorsed on this site:
My guess is that Fox has no real medical news expert, and instead fills its airwaves with people like Rosenfeld, who can't tell the difference between the left side of the moon, let alone the left side of the thorax. Hint, one of them is not made out of green cheese.
Have a happy Fox News Free New Year.
Terry Polevoy
HealthWatcher.net
Contaminated Acupuncture Needles Spread Fear
This is not about Acupuncture, nor is it about Alternative Medicine. It's about the government, and the regulated health professions who have not only ignored scientific facts, they have ignored the pleas of the public to do something, anything to clean up the dirty little secret. Ontario has again refused to protect the public from another contaminated source. Is this another Walkerton?
Could this tragedy been averted if the Ontario government had gone ahead to regulate this quacky "profession"?
I doubt it. There are so many quacks out there who already are licensed as health care professionals, what difference would it have made?
One of the CAM practitioners, named by the Toronto Star, has nearly two decades of "experience" as an acupuncturist. She is actually associated with a York University Wellness Clinic, and a licensed medical doctor. You would expect that her practice would have been under the watchful eye of someone, wouldn't you?
But, the CPSO (College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario), has no interest in regulating Alternative Medicine, and they surely have no jurisdiction over unlicensed quacks who work for doctors in their own offices. Their policy on Complementary Alternative Medicine does not protect the public from "unlicensed" associates in the doctor's office, does it? That is the job of the CMPA, the Canadian Medical Protective Association.
The OMA (Ontario Medical Association), couldn't care less, either. They support all sorts of wacko practices, and even have a Complementary Alternative Medicine Section.
In fact you can read a speech to the Ontario Legislature by Linda Rapson. She and her friends are largely responsible for the growth in interest among physicians in acupuncture in Ontario. I have not seen Dr. Rapson interviewed about this recent outbreak. In fact, an invitation to take a series of Acupuncture courses in Toronto just arrived on my desk this week. Click here and search the University of Toronto for CME courses in acupuncture.
Then there's MPP Monte Kwinter's presentation before the Legislature that eventually led to the passage of an amendment to the Medicine Act that actually supported the "almost anything goes" attitude we hve today. He reminds all of us that doctors are ultimately responsible for the well-being of their patients. Well, I'll be damned!! Is this the same Monty Kwinter who is a hero to the likes of Tim Bolen, Talk International, and the IAHF? I especially like the way that these "friends" don't appreciate the work that I do every day.
Complementary Medicine is so full of quacks that most of its claims couldn't hold water, there is little or no regulation, and yet their minions grow more powerful, despite tragedies such as this. The government of Ontario assures us that nothing will change. There will be more and more victims down the road. This government uses gestapo tactics to audit medical doctors, and attacks the average doctor's right to earn a living, while they protect the criminals who abuse and injure patients. I don't get it!
I call on the Ontario Legislative Assembly to repeal the Act that protects unlicensed alternative medical practitioners, and to assure the public that the regulated health professions will be held accountable. The buck stops here, and it won't get any better until the dirty little tricksters who use alternative medicine as a cover for incompetence get sent away for a very, very long time.
Terry Polevoy, MD
HealthWatcher.net
Toronto's Dirty Little Secret
Letters to the editor - Toronto Star
28 cases and counting - Toronto Star - Jan 9, 2002
Tanya Talaga reveals that Testaguzza is still operating out of her west side Toronto home. Her lawyer said that she has complied with the Health Departments request to use sterile needles. Duh, and does she have permit to operate out of her home? Has the Health Department gone there?
Acupuncturists need standards - Jie Zhou - Toronto - Dec 24, 2002
We have long been trying to convince the government to set standards and license our profession, thus eliminating the unqualified and the charlatans from our midst. So far, nothing has been done in Ontario, as there does not seem to be the political will or interest in the subject. ...with needles costing less than five cents each, there is absolutely no reason to re-use them.
Acupuncture was wrong treatment - Dr. Michael Kovacs - London - Dec 26, 2002
It is awful what has allegedly happened to these persons as a result of dirty acupuncture needles. The part that I find very difficult to understand is why one woman's gynecologist referred her for acupuncture to manage postpartum bleeding.
If this is reported correctly, there is no credible evidence to support such treatment for that indication. This woman probably should never have had the acupuncture in the first place.
Scared for the future - Toronto Star - Dec 27, 2002
Acupuncture visit becomes woman's ongoing ordeal
When Corrinne King needed a cure for complications she suffered after giving birth, she turned to acupuncturist Sandra Testaguzza for help.
Now, King, 35, says that decision has turned into a months-long ordeal of doctor visits, creams and antibiotic treatments for an unusual skin infection that health officials suspect she contracted through dirty acupuncture needles.
More patients have skin disease Toronto Star - December 24, 2002
Number rises from 12 to 20 Acupuncture clinics still closed
The number of patients infected with a rare skin disease at two acupuncture clinics has jumped from 12 to 20, says Toronto's medical officer of health, Dr. Sheila Basrur. The patients are being told by Toronto Public Health that they should get tested for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and a skin infection called Mycobacterium abscessus. A provincial government spokesperson said the Ministry of Health is moving toward regulating Ontario's estimated 10,000 acupuncturists, but he said he could give no estimate on when this will happen.
Province urged to monitor acupuncture clinics - Toronto Star - Dec 23, 2002
Hairdressers and bikini-waxers face more rigorous provincial standards than acupuncturists who call themselves doctors, an association calling for higher standards for acupuncture specialists says.
(Well I'll be damned. You can call yourself an acupuncturist in Ontario after taking a six-week course, and work at a health club, or massage parlour. I wonder if the CME courses from the OMA would qualify me? After all, it's the Ontario do nothing Medical Association that recognizes acupuncture as a valid scientific method. I wonder what all those weekend courses by Dr. Ho consider it? My spin on all of this is that someone stands to make a bundle training these folks, and that's why we have thousands of people in Ontario who don't know the first thing about medicine are paying thousands of dollars to do it. Some of them are chiropractors, too, they may even stick needles in your horse or chihuahua. But, that's another story. Chiropractors say that their profession has guidelines for acupuncture. But then again, they are only chiropractors, and as you know, they don't have to prove that subluxations exist, let alone all those weird and wonderful meridiens, or Ying or Yang. It won't matter, in my humble opinion, if acupuncture is regulated here in Ontario. People, even if tested, can't prove that there is scientific validity for about 99% of what a acupuncturist does. )
Fear for future - Toronto Star - Dec 22, 2002
Acupuncture visit becomes woman's ongoing ordeal
Health officials seek more than 100 ex-patients who may have been seen and treated by her. She works in clinic affiliated with a licensed Toronto OB/GYN who believes that "traditional acupuncture is often successfully used as an alternative to medications or even surgery." Oh, did I fail to mention their qualifications such as "Both Doctors Pettle and Testaguzza have been featured on the Erin Davis Television Show on several occasions." Plus, for those of you who know how fond we are of York University, she is the Women's Health Consultant at York University Wellness Center. Wow, am I bloody impressed. Don't they teach sterile technique there. I assume that it must be one of their most favourite topics in the philosophy department. And who can forget the little letter we sent to Chatelaine Magazine about their piece on alternative medicine in 1999.
Contact acupuncture911@yahoo.com if you have been treated by any acupuncturist in Toronto and have suffered injury.
Acupuncturist in Toronto re-used needles - Toronto Star - December 21, 2002 - A dozen people in the Toronto area are infected with Mycobacterium abscessus. City councillor calls for regulation. Health officials refuse to identify the name of the acupuncturist, the names of the two clinics involved, or the doctors associated with them. It so happens that there is absolutely no regulation of acupuncturists in Ontario. Why even tattoo parlors are probably under more scrutiny. My question to the government of Ontario is basically this, when the hell are you going to take action to protect the unwary public. I wonder how many cases of AIDS, or Hepatitis-C might be spread by people like this.
E-mail Dr. Barbara Yaffe an ask her why she is keeping a secret from the public. We deserve to know where these idiots practice. If this was a restaurant that failed to keep their hot tables at the right temperature, it would be public knowledge. Are these people Canadians, are they foreign MDs from China, are they licensed massage therapists, chiropractors, naturopaths, or did they learn their trade over a few weekends with Dr. Ho at the Toronto Convention Centre.
Links to Mycobacterium abscessus
York University links to acupuncture claims
- Testaguzza on the Ying and Yang of female hormones - Pay attention to her association with York University, Dr. Alvin Pettle, a holistic gynecologist, and the fact that she claims to have learned her trade at the Professional College of Chinese Medicine in Toronto. The fact that she has a "license" to practice in Quebec doesn't really mean much in Ontario. But her black belt in martial arts does. Hmmm, is there something wrong with this picture? Plus if you ever want to know how to empower your adrenal glands, she's got the answer. It's too bad that it's most likely that she didn't use an autoclave for her reused needles, eh?
Reports of acupuncture related infections
Hepatitis B and C in Korea
Hepatitis C in Asia
Control of infection in acupuncture
Alternative Medicine in Canadian Medical Journals
CMAJ
Health Regulators
Links to Canadian Alternative Medicine Research Sites
Alternative Medicine - Comments and Major Reviews
- Health Care Reality Check FAQs on Acupuncture
- Is acupuncture safe? - Pulse on Oriental Medicine.
This totally complementary article ignores the fact that there is no standardization in most countries when it comes to safety, training, and basic theory in regards to acupuncture. They throw stones at medical treatments in the usual way. I say, let's look at the demographics of the people who use acupuncture, their longevity, and their ability to be fooled. Oops, I mean placebo'd.
- More than 35% of acupuncturist don't properly sterilize their needles - As with any medical procedure, acupuncture is not risk-free, but problems are pretty uncommon. The biggest concern is infection. According to one study, improperly sterilized needles are used by about 35 percent of practitioners. To minimize your risk, insist on disposable surgical steel needles. Other potential problems include pain, drowsiness and a worsening of the disorder from incorrect diagnosis.
In addition, some isolated lung and bladder punctures, broken needles, and allergic reactions to needles made of materials other than surgical steel have been reported. Acupuncture may also stimulate production of hormones in pregnant women that help initiate labor and can be harmful to the fetus in early pregnancy. However, in the hands of a good acupuncturist, the risk of such complications is extremely low.
(So what defines a GOOD acupuncturist?)
- Australia struggles with regulation
There is no technique for diagnosis of cancer in traditional Chinese medicine and one of the great problems that we think could be there is a delay in diagnosis.
People who come to these practitioners may have the expectation that they are trained to make those sort of diagnoses and they're not.
Victoria is the only state so far to introduce laws which protect patients.
ALAN BENSOUSSAN, UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN SYDNEY: Otherwise elsewhere in Australia, anyone can practice Chinese medicine, can put their shingle up. They don't have to have even opened a book to do it.
- SkepticWeb.com Web site critiques acupuncture license regulation in Colorado
Acupuncture schools are notoriously poor and in no way prepare acupuncturists to know when they are practicing medicine and when they are not. When asked at the House committee meeting why licensure, an acupuncturists states it was to protect acupuncturists from charges that they are practicing medicine.
- Try Medboo if you want to train in TCM - I coudn't find a single side effect listed on their site. Hmmmmmm. I guess there aren't any, eh?
- NCAHF position on acupuncture
- Alternative Medicine Report - AMA Council for Scientific Affairs - 1997
This report will help to clarify and categorize the
alternative medical systems most often used, create a context to
assess their utility (or lack thereof), and discuss how physicians and
the medical profession might deal with the issues surrounding these
unconventional measures in health and healing.
Many alternative practitioners are unlicensed (except for
chiropractic, and in some states, acupuncturists, naturopaths, and
homeopathic therapists) and unregulated, particularly those dealing
in alternative nutritional therapy.
The adherents of these fields, however, state that "most alternative
systems of medicine hold some common beliefs."2 Many theories of
alternative medicine attempt to pose a single explanation for most
human illness; the therapy is thought to correct the source of the
problem, not merely treat its symptoms.
- Complete Complementary Collection - BMJ
This is the main British Medical Journal web page dedicated to complementary and alternative medicine
- What is Complementary medicine - BMJ
Complementary medicine refers to a group of therapeutic and diagnostic disciplines that exist largely outside the
institutions where conventional health care is taught and provided. Complementary medicine is an increasing
feature of healthcare practice, but considerable confusion remains about what exactly it is and what position the
disciplines included under this term should hold in relation to conventional medicine
- British Medical Association calls for alternative medicine regulation
The association said that while it recognizes the growing interest in complementary
and alternative therapies, it is important to protect patients from "...unskilled or
unscrupulous practitioners of healthcare." The BMA suggested that a regulating
body be established for each therapy with the responsibility of keeping a register of
practitioners and operating an enforceable ethical code linked to effective
disciplinary measures.
- The Entirely Online Alt. Med Primer - For those interested in an objective, scientific, "non-advocate" perspective. It takes a while to load, but this is one of the best sources of alt. med. stuff I have seen in one place. There is no search engine, but it's divided into categories, chiropractic, homeopathy, veterinary, etc. Some of the best papers from recent publications are linked here. If you like healthwatcher.net, and NCAHF and the healthfraud list, you'll love this site. Bob Imrie's and David Ramey's stuff is highlighted in yellow.
- Enhancing the Accountability of Alternative Medicine - Milbank Fund -- January 1998
This report is about the accountability of practitioners of alternative medical therapies to the public. It describes work
on behalf of greater accountability by legislators, regulators, professionals in both conventional and alternative
medicine, health care purchasers, researchers, and consumer advocates. Members of each of these groups
participated in preparing this report by attending meetings, offering information, and reviewing successive drafts.
- Energy Healing - Does it Really Work?
Energy healing
therapies stimulate this energy and help it circulate through a person's body.
Also called chi, ki, qi, prana, Žlan vital, and orgone, this life force or universal
energy is the heart of healing modalities such as acupuncture, Reiki, and
Therapeutic Touch.
"Energy medicine, like prayer, is inexplicable on the basis of 20th century
scientific belief," says Dr Hal Gunn, co-director of the Centre for Integrated
Healing, a complementary cancer care centre where acupuncture, Reiki and
Healing Touch are used to relieve their patients' pain and anxiety.
This from David Bo Zong: Any illness can
be diagnosed and treated in terms of the body's energy imbalances. TCM uses
natural treatments such as acupuncture, acupressure, and herbal medicine to
correct these energy imbalances and restore health. The entire body, especially
the energy of the internal organs, must be considered to find a cure. The
human body is an interconnected energy system, which is also related to the
natural energy cycles of the universe. TCM treatments such as acupuncture, acupressure and herbal medicine can
cure or prevent these problems by building up the immune system,
strengthening the organs, and balancing the body's energy circulation.
Legal Opinions on Alternative Medicine - Risks and Regulations
- A Fixed Star in Health Care Reform: The Emerging Paradigm of Holistic Healing - Michael H Cohen - Arizona State Law Journal
This article examines the extent to which the legal system accommodates, or even tolerates, a broader spectrum of healing than "medicine." Section I of this article explores the regulatory problems posed by a paradigm shift from strictly medical to more holistic forms of healing. Section II analyzes state licensing schemes regulating the "practice of medicine" and the way courts have interpreted these statutes when confronted with alternative practitioners. Section III places the legislative and judicial response to alternative healers in historical context and evaluates whether existing statutes and judicial attitudes toward healers actually serve the values they espouse, namely, preventing fraud and protecting health care consumers. Section IV suggests avenues for regulatory reform that disentangle the prevention of fraud from the protection of medical orthodoxy, and that more fully serve consumer choice and patient autonomy.
-
Overview of Legislative Development Concerning
Alternative Health Care in the United States -
A Research Project of the Fetzer Institute -
by David M. Sale, J.D., LL.M.
- Main contents
- Acupuncture
Regulatory Bodies
U.S. Boards
Canada
U.K.
- Greater London piercing regulations
The status of skin piercing within the current legal framework
7 Piercing or breakage of the skin encompasses the practices of electrolysis, ear piercing, tattooing, acupuncture, body piercing, branding and other scarification methods. At present, premises carrying out electrolysis, ear piercing, tattooing and acupuncture need to be registered with their Local Authority under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1982, where the LA has adopted the Act.
- Guidelines for control of infection in special treatments (tattooing, body piercing and acupuncture.
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A Manual of Acupuncture
Peter Deadman
Kevin Baker
Mazin Al-Khafaji
Once in a great while an extraordinary book is published that sets an entirely new standard in its field. A Manual of Acupuncture, published by Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications, is just such a book. Painstakingly researched over many years by Peter Deadman, editor-in-chief of The Journal of Chinese Medicine, and colleagues Mazin Al-Khafaji and Kevin Baker, this book is certain to become the primary reference in the West for the study of acupuncture points and channels.
The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine
Ted J. Kaptchuk
Completely and thoroughly revised, The Web That Has No Weaver is the classic, comprehensive guide on the theory and practice of Chinese medicine. This accessible and invaluable resource has earned its place as the foremost authority in the synthesizing of Western and Eastern healing practices.
Acupuncture Risk Management
David C. Kailin This book is primarily intended to train acupuncturists to assess many dimensions of risk, and to implement practical strategies for the prevention of harm. More generally, it guides all complementary medicine providers toward practicing safely in the social, legal and medical contexts of America. - It is out of print but can be ordered used from Amazon.
Foundations of Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Text for Acupuncturists and Herbalists
Giovanni Maciocia
This is truly one of the best texbooks I have every seen that explains acupuncture and chinese medical theory. Very comprehensive and informative. It begins by explaining foundational principles of chinese medical thought such as: yin and yang, the five elements, vital substances, the trasformation of Qi, the function of the different organ systems and patterns, and concludes with very descriptive information on the action and use for most points. This text is used at many acupuncture colleges around the nation. A MUST HAVE for all who have a sincere interest in chinese medicine. Keep an eye open for Giovanni's next work "Diagnosis IN Chinese Medicine".
Clinical Acupuncture: Scientific Basis
Gabriel Stux
R. Hammerschlag
B. M. Berman
There is a large increase in interest in acupuncture by health care consumers. The three main reasons for this are medical effectiveness, cost effectiveness and the credibility that clinical trials and physiological research have provided. Acupuncture is rapidly moving out of the arena of "alternative" medicine, in large part again because it is grounded more firmly than other alternative treatments in research. The book provides the reader with the up-to-date information on the clinical bases of acupuncture.
Acupuncture Risk Management
David C. Kailin This book is primarily intended to train acupuncturists to assess many dimensions of risk, and to implement practical strategies for the prevention of harm. More generally, it guides all complementary medicine providers toward practicing safely in the social, legal and medical contexts of America. - It is out of print but can be ordered used from Amazon.
 
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